Chapter 2 Why Did You Kiss Me, Are You Crazy?

"This really wasn''t written by me!" Alex tore the note into pieces, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it a few times. "I didn''t write this! You have to believe me! I was just asking if you wanted to walk home together after school..."

Alex realized that these two sentences sounded equally strange. Although he and Leonard had been in the same class since freshman year, they weren''t close enough to walk home together.

Moreover, they had been in the same class for four years, and for three of those years, Alex had been pranking Leonard with all sorts of childish tricks.

Back in the day, his motto was to defeat Leonard, and Leonard even saw it. Although they knew each other, their relationship was always tense.

For Alex, it was always on the verge of a fight, although Leonard had never really lost his temper in front of him.

"Okay, let''s walk home together." Leonard handed him a densely written piece of paper. "This is your reflection."

"..." How come he even offers ghostwriting services?

Alex discreetly stuffed the reflection into his pocket.

"Hey," Alex called out to him and asked a rather odd question, "Are you allergic to alcohol?"

Leonard shook his head.

"Then do you have time to come to my house..." His mind went blank for a moment, then he continued, "to tutor me on my homework."

Leonard replied calmly, "Sure."

—

Alex specifically chose a day when his parents weren''t home. When he opened the door, he was greeted by an empty living room.

His family was quite well-off. Both his parents were successful professionals, earning enough to buy a three-bedroom apartment in a high-end neighborhood in this expensive city.

Leonard followed closely behind and asked, "Can I make a call home?"

Alex pointed to the landline, then walked into the kitchen and took out the last six bottles of beer from the fridge.

Leonard only said one sentence on the phone before hanging up. When he returned to the living room, the coffee table was already set with beer and glasses.

"Leonard, do you drink?"

He looked surprised, as if he was scared, or maybe something else.

Alex thought to himself, definitely a naive top student who hasn''t experienced much.

He pretended to fill the glass to the brim. "Cheers?"

Then, he downed the glass in one go.

After just one glass, his face turned red. Leonard poured him the second glass. In contrast, Leonard had already quietly finished three bottles.

In the end, Alex drank until he was unconscious, lying motionless on the couch.

Leonard observed his every move without a word, then decided to carry him to the bedroom.

As soon as he touched Alex, Alex wrapped his arms around Leonard''s neck and unexpectedly kissed him. It was a mouth-to-mouth kiss, even though it was just a brief peck, it stirred up a storm in Leonard''s heart.

He touched his lips, feeling a bit dazed, his ears burning.

Then he heard Alex mumble softly, "Lucas Brown..."

Lucas was the name of his deskmate.

Leonard''s face instantly darkened. He roughly turned Alex''s face and kissed him hard.

This kiss was neither tender nor gentle; it was bitter.

The air was filled with the smell of alcohol, Alex''s body was hot, and he didn''t wake up, unaware of the advantage being taken.

Finally, Leonard carried him to the bed, cleaned up the coffee table, and left quietly.

Only silence remained.

Alex suddenly opened his eyes, covering his burning face. "Damn..."

It seemed like keeping his mouth shut earlier was the right move, that was so freaking creepy.

He grabbed his phone and texted Zayne, "I''m going to kill you!!"

Far away, Zayne sneezed in his sleep, then turned over and continued sleeping.

Alex got up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep.

Why did he kiss me! Is he crazy!

—

The next morning, Alex showed up to homeroom with dark circles under his eyes. The double whammy of a hangover and staying up late had taken an irreversible toll on his body, but the bigger blow was to his soul.

He smoked all night but still couldn''t figure out why Leonard kissed him.

He originally planned to skip class, but Dana grabbed him by the collar demanding his reflection. "I let you off the hook yesterday, but I need that 2,000-word reflection now. Hand it over!"

So he handed in the reflection Leonard had written, only to be scolded by Dana. "Do you think I''m blind? Such neat handwriting can''t be yours! Rewrite it, and don''t try any tricks!"

The damage wasn''t severe, but the insult was.

As he walked out of the office dejectedly, he ran into Leonard, who was on his way to submit his homework.

"Morning..."

Before Leonard could finish his sentence, Alex turned and walked away, cold sweat dripping down his back.

Zayne was waiting for him at the classroom door, striking a pose against the doorframe. "How did that trick I taught you work out yesterday? Feeling refreshed?"

"Refreshed, my ass," Alex didn''t want to say more and squeezed past him into the classroom. "Do I look refreshed to you?"

"You do look a bit off. Got a cold?"

Alex shook his head.

"Fever?"

He shook his head again.

He couldn''t exactly say that last night he was almost...

sexually harassed by Leonard.

Alex shook his head, trying to shake off the memory of last night.

This period was physics, and as usual, he slept on his desk, only to have a note slipped into his hand.

His face was full of sleep marks, and he sat up impatiently. The student in front of him poked his desk with a pen and whispered, "From the class president."

Leonard again.

Alex''s face turned even worse.

"Some students, don''t whisper during class," the physics teacher''s voice boomed. "I can ignore you sleeping, but whispering disrupts everyone''s learning. Go stand outside."

Alex casually stuffed the note under his book and went back to sleep.

"Hey, you in the back, sleeping!"

Alex groggily lifted his head again, and without a word, picked up his textbook and headed for the back door.

The physics teacher called him back, "Alex, don''t be so negative. How about this, come up to the blackboard and solve a physics problem. If you get it right, you can go back to sleep. If you get it wrong, then go stand outside."

All eyes in the class were on him.

"Forget it, I don''t want to sleep anymore." Alex yawned. "Cavendish, Cavendish, teacher, I''m wide awake now."

Then he swaggered out.

"See that? Not a bit of student demeanor! I''m telling you, in a year and a half, you''ll be taking your college entrance exams. If you all act like him, you''ll end up doing manual labor!"

The physics teacher''s voice echoed down the hallway. Alex stood outside, indifferent, finally deciding to open his textbook and take a look.

Manual labor didn''t sound too bad; it could even build some muscle.

"Teacher." Leonard stood up abruptly.

"What''s up, Leonard?"

"I need to go to the restroom."

The physics teacher always gave good students a pass and waved him off. "Quickly, and come back soon."

The school had open-air corridors, and the hot wind came in waves. Alex was already feeling the heat after standing for just a while and started fanning himself with his physics textbook.

Then, unexpectedly, a familiar figure appeared in his line of sight.

Leonard came out from the front door and seemed to be heading his way.

Seeing Leonard''s face reminded Alex of last night''s kiss, and he futilely tried to cover his face with the textbook, almost backing into the door of the next classroom.

"The note I gave you in class," Leonard persisted, making his presence known, "did you read it?"

Leonard took a step forward, and Alex took a step back, his back hitting the hard wall. He peeked out from under the book, glaring, "Didn''t read it, threw it away. What do you want!"

"Oh." Leonard replied indifferently.

"Leonard, I don''t like guys, and I especially don''t like you," Alex grabbed his collar, looking up at him with false bravado. "Stop bothering me. From now on, let''s just stay out of each other''s way, okay?"

While trying to act tough, he couldn''t help but think how tall Leonard was.

Leonard remained expressionless. "No."

Dana, coming out of a meeting, saw this scene and tightened her grip on her notebook, quickly walking over in her high heels. "Alex, what are you doing!"

Both of them looked over simultaneously.

Alex silently let go of Leonard''s collar.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, I was just asking the class president a question." Alex forced a smile.

"You little punk, can''t leave you alone for a day without you causing trouble, huh?" She rolled her eyes and smacked Alex on the head with her notebook. "Since it''s a misunderstanding, explain it properly."

Leonard, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "He was sleeping in class, and the teacher asked me to persuade him to get back on track."

Alex almost spat out blood. He forced a smile, "I Cavendish, Cavendish you."

"Leonard, go back to class and don''t fall behind, okay?" Dana said gently.

Then, she watched Leonard silently return to the classroom, leaving only his back to Alex.

Alex gritted his teeth, cursing Leonard''s ancestors in his mind.

Dana habitually tugged his ear. "You go back to class too, and stop causing trouble, got it?"

Back at his seat, Alex''s eyes fell on the note. Annoyed, he opened it.

The note only had a physics concept written on it.

I Cavendish, Cavendish you, it wasn''t a love letter.

He looked up at the blackboard. Although it was filled with symbols he didn''t recognize, he could tell at a glance that it matched what Leonard had written on the note.

He crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it aside.